Bilbao wins stage 1 of Tour of the Alps

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Pello Bilbao (Astana) claimed stage 1 of the Tour of the Alps and the first leader’s jersey of the race, after a well-timed attack little under five kilometres from the finish. The Astana rider jumped away from the leaders after the final climb and held off the chasers, with Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) finishing second and Ivan Ramiro Sosa (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) taking third on the stage.

Giro d’Italia rivals Chris Froome (Team Sky), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ) and Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates), all locked horns on the final 19-kilometre ascent of Rovereto, with the Italian briefly distanced after Froome had launched a stinging attack before the summit. There was a re-grouping on the run-in to the line, and Astana showed their strength with five riders present. It was Bilbao who seized the opportunity, powering clear before the short rise to the finish.

The race was defined by the long 19-kilometre ascent before a six-kilometre descent to the line in Folgaria.

It was Pinot's Groupama team that sat on the front of the main field before the climb, and the French under set a steady pace on the lower slopes as they reduced the lead of the early break.

Aleksejs Saramotins (Bora-Hansgrohe), Natnael Berhane (Dimension Data), Aleksey Rybalkin (Gazprom), Davide Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Matthias Krizek (Team Felbermayr Simplon Wels), Pascal Eenkhoorn (LottoNL-Jumbo), Joan Bou (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini) Marco Friedrich (Tirol Cycling Team) and Alex Turrin (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia) had jumped clear earlier in the stage but with the foot of the final climb approaching, the lead had been reduced to under three minutes.

Solid tempo work from Pinot's men on the lower slopes saw the lead group splintered the leaders, and with 20km to go the gap was down to 2:23.

Six kilometres later, and with the break caught, Pinot fired Sebastien Reichenbach up the road with just over 12 kilometres remaining. Team Sky duly moved to the front in a bid to keep the Swiss rider under control but Giulio Ciccone attacked and soon after and moved to the front of the race as Reichenbach was reeled in. Just before the capture Pinot attacked but his move was quickly brought back as Froome's team set about shredding the peloton.

With just one teammate left to support Froome, and the summit of the climb fast approaching, Aru attacked. The Italian's move was nullified, with Froome responding in kind with a surging attack that drew out Pinot, George Bennett and Domenico Pozzovivo. The quartet caught on the descent, before a group containing Aru and Bilbao made contact.

When Bilbao eventually went clear, his Astana team disrupted the chase but the 28-year-old continued to extend his lead before taking a well-deserved victory.

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